Secrets Hidden By A Star
by OceanGlitter
Summary: Lucy was a little star. Lively, energetic and happy. Suddenly, something changed. Rating may have to change as other issues are addressed.
1. Lucy

When Lucy first came to me, she was a lively, energetic and happy girl. She was away wit the fairies, constantly laughing and chatting. She was the happiest girl in this school, a welcome change compared to the usual moodiness of students. Carefree and young, she had massive potential. If only she'd behave! Her chattiness often got her sent to the cooler. She was constantly causing low level disruption. Echoing through the corridor, there were often shouts of "Lucy, sit down!" "Lucy, stop talking" and once, "Lucy, get off that table!"

She didn't stick with the "popular" students, although they all knew her name, but that was her choice. She stayed with others who looked like they needed a smile. Oh, that dazzling smile! It was never too far away from her and always made others smile. Her sparkling blue eyes shone with life! She was a breath of fresh air for the school. A bright, lively, happy pupil, willing to learn and share her passions. I loved reading and writing Lucy's school reports. Apart from her behaviour, everything was good. So of course, concerns were raised when Lucy suddenly changed...


	2. Monday Morning

It was a Monday morning when Lucy slunk into class. She was early, as usual, and her long brown hair flowed down her back, bouncing slightly as she walked. Lucy wasn't smiling. Her eyes weren't sparkling. I was at my desk and she sat in her seat, staring into the distance.

"Good morning Lucy," I said cheerfully. No response. I tried again. This time, Lucy looked over to me.

"Is it?" she asked. A strange response from the girl who was always happy. It was only yesterday when she was telling me to have a more positive outlook on life. Maybe this was her test for me? I hoped so, and that she'd just snap out of it and go back to her usual self.

"Of course it is," I replied to her remark. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing! Today looks like a good day!"

"Oh," Lucy replied unenthusiastically. I then noticed that Lucy was incredibly pale and had dark rings under her eyes. I got up and walked over to the table she was sitting at. I came down to her level, although she continued to stare straight through me.

I wasn't sure if she'd answer me, but I asked anyway, "Lucy, is everything okay? You're very pale."

Thankfully, she'd heard me. "I'm fine," she said as her voice wobbled. "I'm just not feeling very well and I didn't sleep a wink last night."

"Okay, do you want to go to the medical room? They might be able to do something," I suggested.

"They'd send me home, wouldn't they?"

"Probably. Why?"

"No reason. I don't want to go to them. I'll be fine. It's just a funny turn."

"Okay. Well, make sure you tell me if it gets any worse." Lucy nodded her head. Maybe she was ill? But something was telling me to keep an eye on her.

The bell rang and I returned to the front of the class as the students filled in.


	3. Something Is Wrong

The lesson dragged. Lucy didn't answer a single question. She didn't say a single word. She managed to complete a little work but mainly stared at an empty wall. She appeared not to hear her classmates and never left her seat. I knew something was wrong, and I'm sure others noticed it too, but I didn't know what to do.


	4. Cooler Duty

I was on cooler duty later that day. I knew Lucy was still present and I desperately hoped that she'd bounced back from this morning and was sat in the cooler for something silly.

I entered the room and gave a quick scan. Janeece Bryant, Denzil Kelly, Lindsay James, all the usual suspects of bad behaviour. I was taking over from Grantly Budgen and asked "No Lucy yet?"

"Not yet," he replied, "but I've got her next. Chances are she's had supplies all day and they've done nothing about her behaviour. I'll be sending her here before she's got her foot in the door, I bet."

I smiled weakly. "Keep an eye on her, won't you?"


	5. Where's Lucy?

Lucy never came to the cooler, but I knew her better than that. After being her form tutor for so long, I knew her better than any other member of staff. She'd run rings around supplies and new teachers. If she had been sent to the cooler, she probably wouldn't have gone, and instead had been hiding.

When my turn on cooler duty was over, I searched the school. I couldn't find Lucy. She wasn't in her usual hiding spots. Lucy had been in class all along. Her usual disruption had ceased to exist that day.

I was becoming increasingly concerned about Lucy. Her change in behaviour was too drastic for me to ignore. I continued to monitor her behaviour for a few more days, making sure that I asked her if everything was okay everyday. I had no idea what was causing her strange behaviour, but I wanted to find out.


	6. Pushing Away

I watched Lucy for a few more weeks. For most of her teachers, her new behaviour caused them worry, but alongside huge relief, that the academic star had finally seemed to buckle down. That was until they began to review her work.

Lucy withdrew herself from her classmates and peers. She pushed people further and further away from her, to the point that no one even tried to talk to her. Her school attendance began to decrease, and I was more worried that ever before. I'd tried to talk to her before, but wit no avail. I decided to talk to her once more, before I'd have to take a different course of action with her and get more senior staff involved.


	7. The Last Talk

"Lucy, can I have a quick word please?"

She shrugged her shoulders and came over to my desk. The bell had just rung, but I had the next lesson off timetable and I was going to try to get to the bottom of Lucy's strange behaviour. I pulled a chair over from a nearby table.

"Take a seat, I just want to have a quick chat."

Lucy was silent. I noticed again how pale and tired she looked. Although pale, her skin had a yellow tinge. There was an essence of sadness about her as she twisted and fiddled with a thread that was loose on her school jumper.

"I've noticed you've changed a little recently."

No response.

"Your behaviour has changed, and I can't say for the best. You're quieter now."

I was hoping for a slight response, even just a change of facial expression, but I received nothing.

"And your school work isn't as good as it was a few weeks ago, and you've had a lot of time off school."

I thought I heard a little sigh, but I couldn't be sure. It could have been a small gust of wind between the gaps of the dodgy school windows.

"Lucy," I said, "is everything okay?"

No response again. She looked as though she was pondering over something, maybe deciding to tell me something. Her head lifted slightly and her mouth opened, but quickly shut again, as though she couldn't say her words. I definitely heard a sign this time, as she finally replied "everything's fine."

"What about at home? I mean..."

She'd cut me short. "I said everything's fine."

"Lucy, look at me."

She lifted her head, close to the brink of tears.

"Are you definitely sure?"

Her rage exploded. "Yes! What is it with you people? Why can't you just accept a first answer!" Lucy quickly left my room, bag over her shoulder. I thought I knew where she'd be going, so I followed her down the hall as she stormed off. A group of year 11's were standing around in the corridor, and, thinking I needed to give her a chance to cool off, made them my next priority. After sorting them out, although they had been here long enough to know exactly where they were going, I started my search for Lucy.


	8. Please Help!

"Miss! Miss!" I heard a girl call in the corridor. I'd been searching for Lucy for almost half an hour now. "Miss! Please, miss! Help!"

"What on earth's the matter?"

"Just quickly, in here," the girl said as she rushed into the toilets.

I knew that strictly, I shouldn't be in there, but something told me something was desperately wrong. I entered anyway and was shocked to see what lay before me.

"Go and get Miss Mason, quickly."


	9. The Scene Before Me

Lucy was lying unconscious on the floor. A pool of deep red blood had formed around her wrists and head. She'd clearly cut herself, but must've injured her head when she fell. I checked her breathing, although it was barely noticeable, and called for an ambulance.

"What has happened to the patient?" the lady on the phone asked.

"She's cut her wrists and fainted, which has caused a head injury."

"And is she breathing?"

"Yes, but it's poor."

"Okay, be ready to perform emergency CPR should she stop altogether. Is there any sign that she may have overdosed?"

"No, I don't think so." I worried about how my earlier jaundice concern may have something to do with why she fainted. I grabbed her bag as I spoke to the lady on the phone. "Actually, she looked very pale earlier, and I thought her skin had a yellow tinge to it."

"Has she got any belongings with her?"

"Yes. I'm just going through her bag." I rummaged some more before finding something that deeply shocked me. "There's 3 empty boxes of paracetamol."

"Okay, what's the dosage?"

I was silent. I couldn't believe my eyes. Lucy had been the happiest child I've ever known. She was always so incredibly positive.

"Hello? What's the dosage?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry. 500mg. Please hurry, she needs help!"

"Okay, the ambulance should be with you within the next 10 minutes. You're down as an emergency."

As I said goodbye and thanked her for her help, Rachel came in.

"Oh my god," she said as she saw the sight in front of her. "We need an ambulance."

"On it's way."

"What happened?"

"She's self harmed and overdosed."

"Oh god, the poor thing. I never knew anything was wrong."

"Nor did I. She always insisted she was fine. I did have a chat with her though, about half an hour ago. She got quite upset and needed a moment to cool off. I wish I'd never had left her."

"Hey, this isn't your fault. Judging by the colour of her skin, she took an overdose a few hours ago. I just hope it's not too late for her."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not likely to survive more than 12 hours after a paracetamol overdose. All of your organs fail and shut down. Her skin is showing liver failure already."

I thought about her words as she phoned Eddie Lawson. He moved the class opposite the toilets to a new classroom, and warnbed teachers not to let any students out of the classroom for any reason until further notice.

10 minutes felt like hours. I was constantly checking and rechecking Lucy's breathing, and eventually the ambulance crew arrived.

"Can I go with her?" I asked, feeling guilty as though this was my fault.

"Yes, let us know whats happening."

"I will," I said as the ambulance doors swung shut and the sirens began to blast as we began to move.


	10. Breathing Ceased!

"Breathing ceased!" one of the ambulance men shouted. "Beginning emergency CPR! Hurry now Joe!"

"Oh my god," I whispered as I watched the scene unfold before me. Lucy's lifeless body just lay in the ambulance and I found it impossible to comprehend the fact that she'd been walking, although not talking, just an hour ago.

"Oh, no, no, no. We're not losing you," the man whispered to himself as he continued with all his might in an attempt to restart Lucy's breathing.

We arrived at the hospital, which again felt like hours. Lucy was rushed away, one person pushing air into her lungs whilst another performing CPR. I was distraught. Lucy was a star in my eyes and I loved seeing her everyday. What was I going to do if I had to phone the school and say we'd lost her? We'd lost our star?

"Come on, love, this way. I just need some details from you about Lucy and then I'll take you to the relatives waiting room."

I watched, in an attempt to get a final glimpse of Lucy.

"She's in the best possible hands now."


	11. Waiting

I waited in that waiting room for hours.

Each second felt like minutes, each minute, hours and each hour, days. I traced the outline of the pictures in the magazines, unable to read the words. My thoughts were constantly with Lucy.

Rachel phoned twice, and I couldn't give her any news. She came to join me after school had finished.

We chatted, although it was short conversations that couldn't be held with what had happened just a few hours previously. Rachel said she had been unable to contact Lucy's mother, who was a single parent after Lucy's dad had died 3 years previously. The only other relative was Lucy's 21 year old sister, Linzey, and Rachel hoped someone had picked up the answerphone message. Lucy's other siblings were much younger than herself, and would've been relying on Lucy to collect them after their school and nurseries finished for the day.

It was nearing 8pm when a doctor finally came to speak to us, although Lucy's mother was still no where to be seen.


	12. A Serious Case

"Lucy is stable at the moment. She's very weak and will require a psychiatric assessment. She has been moved onto Dragonflies Children's Ward, as she is still a minor. You can visit her, but she needs lots of rest."

"Okay, thank you."

"Has somebody contacted her mother?"

"Yes, but we've had no response all afternoon. She has an older sister, but we've not got any contact details for her," Rachel explained.

"Oh, okay. We'll see if we have and try to get hold of someone. We really need to speak to a parent or legal guardian about sectioning her under the Mental Health Act."

I was shocked, and I'm sure the doctor noticed as he explained, "this is one of the most serious cases of self harm and overdosing we have seen in a long time. She needs help as soon as possible to try and get her back on track."


	13. Dragonflies Children's Ward

The walk to Dragonflies Children's Ward was long and painful. I desperately wanted to see how Lucy was doing, but I couldn't believe what she'd done to herself.

The ward itself was bright and cheerful. Although it was late, some of the older children played games in the centre tables whilst younger ones slept peacefully in their beds and cots. It was clear what some of the children were in hospital for, but others not so much. I saw a young girl nursing a newborn baby and I remembered visiting a young girl from a school a few years back who had had a baby girl at the age of 16 and was admitted to this ward after the birth.

We found Lucy's bed easily and sat by her side. She looked peaceful and calm. Her wounds had been bandaged and she was breathing independently from her oxygen mask as a monitor on her finger monitored her heartbeat. Every so often a blood pressure cuff would pump up, and decrease again.

We sat for a while with her, barely talking, but hoping she would wake up. A 3 year old boy was in the bed next to her, and he woke and asked if I could read him a story to help him go to sleep again. I done as he asked, all the while hoping Lucy would speak to us.

We left at 10pm. Lucy hadn't even opened her eyes.


	14. Linzey

The following morning I arrived at school to hear Rachel had scheduled a meeting with Lucy's sister, Linzey. The meeting had already been booked, but was supposed to be between Lucy's mother had Lucy's younger brother who was due to start with us in September. I was asked to attend this meeting.

Rachel and I started by introducing ourselves, as Linzey apologised for her lack of contact yesterday as she didn't receive the message until 10:30pm and rushed to her sisters side in hospital. She spoke to Lucy's consultant and agreed that Lucy would be better off in a specialised Adolescence Residential Mental Health Unit. She would be approaching the subject with Lucy within the coming days.

"How come you made that decision? Shouldn't that be up to her mother?"

"Not any more. That's what I've come here to talk to you about. I take it Lucy hasn't said anything about her mother?"

"No."

Linzey braced herself, and I knew what she was going to say would be painful for her.

"Our mother unexpectedly passed away 6 weeks ago due to a heart attack."

Lucy's strange behaviour had started about 6 weeks ago.

"I feel awful, but I told her not to say anything. When our dad passed, we were both treated very differently when our mother informed the schools. Neither of us liked the difference. But now this has come to light, I do believe that the schools need to know, as they may be able to spot changes in the children that I can't. That goes for all our siblings, not just Lucy, no matter how young they are."

"I wish you or Lucy would've told us. I've had concerns about Lucy for about 6 weeks now, and yesterday morning I was about to bring my concerns to you, Rachel. It's just that no one else had concerns about her and I had no firm evidence of something being wrong, just a gut feeling combined with her noticeable change in behaviour."

"I feel like I rely on Lucy a bit too much. I leave at 7am, so Lucy gets the kids ready for school and nursery and drops them off at breakfast club or nursery on her way here. She collects them after she's finished here, as she has always done, but then looks after them when she gets home. She sorts out book bags, cooks dinner, washes and irons clothes, washes the younger ones and gets them ready for bed, because she's never sure what time I'll be home. It's a lot to take on for a 14 year old. Most can barely care for themselves, let alone 9 younger children. Sometimes I wish mum and dad hadn't had so many!"

The rest of the meeting continued with discussion of Lucy's future, both at Waterloo Road and in the outside world. I offered to help support the family, overstepping my line as teacher, but something Rachel decided I could do because it would help to reduce the burden on Lucy. I visited Lucy twice more when she was in hospital. She initially protested to being in a residential unit, but gradually came to terms with it and moved shortly after. I gave her a few weeks to settle, and, on Linzey's word, I visited her for the first time, 13 weeks after admission.


End file.
